Our yearly dose of snow!

The first several years that we lived here, snow was a rarity and tended to be no more than a light dusting. The last 3-4 years, this has not been the case! We got another decent dump of snow over the kids' mid-winter break, and I was not a happy camper. I think just with the restrictions of the pandemic already on us for almost a year, this added feeling of being stuck because of snow, even just for a day or two, proved to be the last straw for me! The kids did enjoy it, and it was completely gone in under a week, so it really wasn't that bad. I am always a bit of a snow scrooge, and this year it was even worse!

Brian took Lynsey and Nathan snowboarding on President's Day, while Adam and I hung out at home. They had some trouble getting there because they closed the road for avalanche control an hour earlier than advertised, but they decided to stick it out and ended up getting a few hours in at the hill. It was a good first day for Nathan, he is trying his best to learn something that I don't even have the courage to learn haha! I'm just too old to learn, and have no interest:-/. Anyway, they went again yesterday and had a much better day! I'm so proud of both the kids for working to improve their snowboarding, and I think it's so fun that this is an activity they can do with their dad! We are already planning future trips to Whistler where Adam and I stay behind at the resort and hang out in the hot tub/pool while the other three hit the slopes:-). Sounds good to me!

Other than the snow, not a lot of excitement around here. Oh except that I sold the van! Woohoo! What an experience, seriously. It took 9 days of having it listed before I had a serious buyer, and we got what we were hoping to get for it so that was good. People on Marketplace are just ridiculous. I can't count how many messages I got where people made me offers, which I accepted, and then they disappeared. I think several people made offers before actually reading the description (the Canadian Speedometer was a bit of a deterrent). People told me they were on their way and then just didn't show up, people that seemed genuinely interested just stopped messaging me instead of responding to my question asking if they were still interested, I just can't believe people's standards of communication. I am so completely the opposite of this that I had a real crisis of my faith in people! Just use basic manners people - you may be talking to strangers, and you don't owe them much, but common manners and decency would be appreciated. Well I ended up selling the van on President's Day, the day Brian was out snowboarding with the kids so it was just me and Adam. It wasn't completely smooth, Andy and Kristy came to help me out at the time that the guy said he would be coming, but then he didn't come and didn't respond to my messages asking if he was still coming (grrr!). He did eventually come (an hour late) but Andy and Kristy were gone already so I met him together with Adam, did the test drive with Adam and I in the backseat. I think Adam was a bit confused by the situation but he handled it pretty well! In the end, the guy did buy the van and it was relatively painless. I'm so glad that is over and done with!

I am so happy that winter is almost over. Virus cases are dropping, vaccines are becoming more plentiful, it feels so hopeful right now that things are getting better. That summer might be semi-normal. I so badly want that to be true! Nathan's in-person school got pushed back AGAIN, but at least there is a solid date - March 18th. He is so looking forward to it. Adam is now going from 8:50am-12:20pm 4 days a week, and I think that is much better for him. It's better for all of us actually. He needed something to do in the mornings while I was out at the gym and walking the dog, it's better for Brian especially. No more morning distractions!

This is Brian's news, but he never blogs so I'll mention it, he is switching teams within Facebook in the next few weeks. A new challenge for him, but I think it will be a good one! Change - the only constant in life:-).

 

Half way point of winter!

Winter is marching on, and in the dreariness of winter + the pandemic, we are still finding some fun things! Brian took Lynsey snowboarding on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, one tradition started several years ago that we have been able to continue with this year, thankfully. They had a good time, and I had a good day at home with the boys. When Brian isn't home, Adam is much more agreeable to letting me do things with him, so the three of us went for a lovely walk on this lovely day:-). Another fun thing that happened over the last few weeks is that last Monday, we bought a new van! Yep, our 2009 Dodge Caravan has been a trusty friend for the last 12 years, but it was time for an upgrade! We got a 2021 Honda Odyssey EXL. It's so fancy and new with so much electronic stuff that I am not familiar with and I'm still learning all about it. They offered us next to nothing for our Dodge on trade in so we are going to try and sell it privately, which I am not excited about. I had someone come and clean it thoroughly today, so on the next decent day weather-wise I am going to take some pictures and try and get it listed on some for sale sites. I hope it sells quickly. We plan to list it for a very fair price, it's not worth a lot (but definitely more than the $400 the dealership offered, thanks for nothing jerks!). So that's an exciting thing that we don't do every day! Once every 12 years apparently lol!

Other than those two events, the last few weeks have been pretty standard, nothing too out of the ordinary. I started up my piano lessons again today because my teacher is back to taking some students in person, so that was a nice part of my routine to get back to. Gym classes started up again as well which is really exciting for me! We very optimistically got a few vacations mapped out; first, we want to do a road trip to northern California over Spring Break. It has become increasingly clear that the Canadian border is not going to be getting more lenient in the next few months (in fact it is getting stricter now) so we gave up on the dream of being able to go home. I thought it might be nice to do a road trip to get to know our new van, and Brian and I have talked about going to see the Redwoods for years. Hopefully the pandemic continues on the path it's going now, which is that cases are going down almost everywhere, and things will be pretty open everywhere. Everything I booked is refundable so we will have to wait and see.

Another thing we optimistically booked is a stay at The Grand at Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico over Thanksgiving week! I am so excited for this, this resort looks totally amazing! We booked 5 nights there (refundable since we are HOPEFUL the pandemic will be all but over by then, but who really knows) and we are planning to spend a few nights in Mexico City before that. Haven't booked flights yet because we think they will go down in price yet. Our friends the Daveys are also going to be at the resort for 4 of those nights which will be so much fun! Roll on November, and roll on the END OF THE PANDEMIC!

I haven't talked about this yet, but back in September, I started on a weight loss journey. "But Sarah, haven't you announced weight loss journeys a bazillion times in the past?" Yes, I have. I have gained weight, and lost weight, and gained weight, and lost weight. Many times. You would think at some point I would figure this whole thing out, and yet every time I have lost weight I have always gained it back after some length of time (which isn't the same every time). The last time I did this was back in 2015 when we went to Oahu, but I think I only lost about 6 or 7 pounds that time (I believe I went from 163lbs to about 157 or so, can't quite remember). This past September, I weighed in at 173.4lbs. I had been creeping up for years since that Hawaii trip, not really weighing myself much (would you??) but told myself that since I was working out so faithfully, it wasn't really that much "fat" and likely I was heavier because of the increased muscle. I feel so silly even typing that now, the lies you tell yourself to get out of doing some hard work! I had settled in about the mid-high 160's for at least the last few years or so, but at the beginning of the pandemic, I put on some extra pounds. I remember weighing myself and being surprised to see that 170 mark, and then to have it creep up some days to almost 175, yikes! I didn't like it, but over the Spring/Summer I did not have the mental space to putting any real work into changing it. I was still working out, so in my mind, I could at any point choose to lose weight when I really wanted to, and it would work. Back in September, I finally decided to do it. And I have done it. My weight has been steadily creeping down, plateauing at certain points for a week or two, but then going back down. This morning, I weighed in at 154.4lbs. I haven't been this light since, I'm honestly not sure - I may have gotten this low when I did my big post-Adam weight loss in 2010. 19 lbs is a lot of weight to lose! I can't even believe I had let myself get that high. I'm not even sure if my body is done yet, I might still have a few pounds to go before it settles. 

So, how did I suddenly do this when I have struggled for years and for long periods maintained a weight ranging in the low to high 160's? Honestly, it goes back to my breaking that addiction to food. Every single time. I made a decision in September to cut my portions pretty much in half, eat something other than cereal for breakfast (usually yogurt/cottage cheese/fruit/eggs) and eat nuts or multi grain crackers when I feel like I need a snack during the day. Oh I also almost completely stopped drinking soda. I am not a believer in cutting things out to lose weight, because I think inevitably you will start to resent having none of this thing that you love and just throw the whole thing out, but this one really needed to happen. I was drinking probably 4 or 5 cans of soda a week. Not needed. I still have one (or part of one, I usually split it 4 ways so the kids have some, too) every so often, but I have more control over it now. I can't believe how easy it seems when I'm in the middle of the weight loss, it's so hard at other times but I am so motivated right now! Originally my goal was just to get down to 160lbs, but then I was still losing and still having desserts and things I enjoyed, so I set my new goal at 155lbs. I am still having things that I enjoy and not making the huge sacrifices I thought I would have to make to get down to 155, and now I am thinking maybe I could even hit 150lbs! That would be crazy, I haven't been that low since right before I got married, and I'm pretty sure I gained about 10lbs on the honeymoon lol (darn all inclusive resorts!). Honestly, I am perfectly okay with where I am and if I don't lose another pound, this would still be a huge success and a good place for me to be. My poor body, I feel like it's just been breathing a sigh of relief over the last few months. It's like it's been stuck in this pattern of overeating and not being as healthy as it wants to be, and now I'm finally listening to it again and the weight is just falling off. I'm 41 now - I need to watch my weight for more reasons than ever before. It's not just to look good, but to keep my blood pressure down and stay as healthy as possible.

So there is my essay on my weight loss journey! I'll post another update when I stop losing weight to let you know what my final total is. I feel great, and I really don't want to let myself creep back up again. I don't know why I have allowed this so often in the past, I need to make sure it doesn't happen this time. Clearly my body is trying hard to get me to an ideal weight, so it's time to listen and not let that love of food win out! I did take a photo of myself in an exercise bra and shorts, just in case I backslide again I can remind myself of what's possible, but I don't really want to post it on here haha. It's perfectly decent, I guess I just feel a bit shy still - that Mennonite conservatism still lurks in there somewhere:-). Maybe when I plateau for the last time I'll take an "after" picture and post it!